


Sad Tomato

by Rsbry_Beret



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Eyeliner, Getting Together, Guyliner, M/M, Makeup, Tobin wears makeup, guys can wear makeup, idk Tobin just has pan vibes, it’s really barely any angst I promise, pan Tobin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23988766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rsbry_Beret/pseuds/Rsbry_Beret
Summary: Tobin wears eyeliner to work and No, Leif, It’s Not A Coming Out Thing.(Rated T for swearing)
Relationships: Tobin Batra/Leif Donnelly
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	Sad Tomato

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song Crush With Eyeliner by R.E.M.

Tobin was so glad that Leif rode his bike to work everyday. 

Tobin loved Leif. He loved hanging out with him, he loved working with him, he loved his eyes and the way his fingers looked when they were drumming an absentminded rhythm on his legs and- well, he just loved Leif a lot. 

But that didn’t mean that Leif was the easiest roommate to have. 

In some ways, it was great. Leif did all their laundry, and he cleaned the bathroom every Sunday, and he and Tobin had Tuesday movie night, and all that was great. But Leif was also high-maintenance, and a busybody, and, for lack of a kinder way to say it,  _ really annoying  _ about organization. Including Tobin’s room, which made it really hard to keep things private. 

Tobin wasn’t  _ ashamed _ of himself. So what, he liked wearing makeup sometimes? That didn’t make him any less of a man. And men wore face paint all the time at sports games, and  _ that _ wasn’t weird, so why would this be? If something is acceptable for one gender to do but not the other, that’s called  _ double standards _ , and it’s not cool. 

That’s right, fuckers, he’d read the emails from HR about casual sexism in the workplace. And all of the attached links. Suck it. 

So Tobin hadn’t pried off one of his bedroom floorboards to make a hiding spot for his makeup because he was  _ embarrassed.  _ He did it because… shit. Maybe he  _ was _ embarrassed. Man, way to let himself down. 

Leif had already left the apartment by the time Tobin had fixed himself cereal- biking took longer than just catching the bus- so Tobin was alone in the kitchen. He glared at his empty cereal bowl before throwing his spoon into the sink. It made a very loud and satisfying _ clink-clink-clunk _ . 

_ Fuck this noise _ . Tobin was going to go to work in makeup because he was  _ not _ ashamed of anything. Unabashed was his middle name. Unfazed. Confident. Tobin Unabashed-Unfazed-Confident Batra. 

So, maybe he  _ was _ a fucking coward. 

Tobin left the elevator on the fourth floor, pretending to check his phone so he could hide his shaking hands. He wasn’t even wearing that much makeup, just eyeliner, and he was still freaking out. 

Well, it was too late to back out now. 

“Hey losers!” he called as he slid into his chair, the last person to work like usual. 

“Hey, Tobes,” said Leif from behind him, only half paying attention. 

Zoey quickly bounced over to his desk, holding a stack of papers that Tobin  _ really _ hoped she wasn’t about to put on his desk. 

She dropped the folders in front of him. “Hey, Tobin. Today we need you to check out the…” she trailed off, staring at his face intensely. 

“Uh.” Tobin scratched his jaw uncomfortably. “Yeah?”

Zoey took a half step forward, squinting at his face. “Are you wearing eyeliner?”

Apparently everyone in the office had found that the perfect time to stop talking, too. So everyone heard her say that. Great. 

“Yeah, what about it?” 

Zoey’s eyebrows furrowed before she shrugged and smiled at him. “Nothing. It looks really good.”

Oh. “Oh.” It wasn’t as big of a deal as he thought it was, apparently. Not that he cared if it  _ was _ a big deal, because he wouldn’t have been scared either way. He  _ wasn’t  _ scared. Why would he have been scared? “Thanks.”

“So, I need you to look through these and see what you find. If there’s anything weird, just type it up and mass email, we want to check it’s not there for a reason. We don’t want a repeat of the RAPTOR incident.” Everyone in the office collectively winced at the reminder, and Zoey went back to her desk, and that was… it. 

Huh. 

Tobin reached for his water bottle and pretended to drink from it to hide his smile. 

“So,” said Leif, half-sitting on Tobin’s desk while Tobin finished up his email before lunch. “You’re wearing eyeliner.”

“Yeah.” Tobin really hoped Leif wasn’t going to be a dick about this. 

Tobin could feel Leif staring at his face for a moment. “Why?” he asked slowly. 

“Because I like it. Because I look good in it. Because I can.” He didn’t meet Leif’s eyes. He was too afraid of what he might find there. Everything else, everyone’s opinion of him- that meant nothing next to his relationship with Leif. 

Leif touched Tobin’s shoulder. “Is this, like, a coming out thing?”

“Dude _ , _ ” Tobin said, finally looking up at him. “No. Guys can wear makeup. It’s not a girl thing, it’s not a gay thing, it’s just a thing that anyone can do. It’s only weird if you make it weird.” Leif was still looking at him, like,  _ really _ intensely. “You know I’m pan. But it’s not really any of these guys’ business. And me wearing eyeliner doesn’t mean that I’m not straight. I just happen to be both wearing eyeliner and not straight.”

Leif was still looking at him. Tobin wasn’t going to be the one to look away first. 

“Is this going to be a problem, dude? Because it’s my face.”

“No, I…” Leif glanced down at his lips before looking back at his eyes. Tobin watched his throat bob as he gulped. “I like it.”

_ Oh.  _

Tobin smiled, suddenly, a little too happy to be considered smug. “Yeah? You like it?” Leif was still touching his shoulder. Tobin reached up and tangled his fingers with Leif’s. He stood up suddenly, leaving their hands to fall between them, clasping each other. Leif looked surprised but pleased.

He nodded. “Lunch?”

Tobin nodded back, still grinning. “Lunch.”

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Please please please leave comments, they sustain me.


End file.
